"When a writer attempts to introduce a social issue into his fiction, he can almost be sure that he will be accused of some kind of proselytizing. In Chain Thinking the issue is animal rights and the fiction is the story of Kikora, a chimpanzee, and Shep Harrington, a lawyer and detective manqué, and his battle not only to solve a murder, but to save the chimp from experimentation. Elliott Light has managed to weave these two parts together, and do it seamlessly."
--MARTHA GRIMES, BEST-SELLING WRITER OF MORE THAN 20 MYSTERIES, NOTED ANIMAL RIGHTS ADVOCATE, AND WINNER OF THE NERO WOLFE AWARD (BEST MYSTERY)
"Those who think that stories about legal rights for nonhuman animals have to be boring, tedious, complicated, or abstract are in for a treat. In Chain Thinking, the plain truths about our inhumanity to other beings with whom we share our world are told in a way both exciting and funny. What animal rights lawyer wouldn't want to be like Shep Harrington (except for the part about going to jail)? And I guessed wrong about whodunnit!"
-- STEVEN M. WISE, LECTURER, HARVARD LAW SCHOOL, AND AUTHOR OF THE BOOKS RATTLING THE CAGE: TOWARD LEGAL RIGHTS FOR ANIMALS AND DRAWING THE LINE: THE CASE FOR ANIMAL RIGHTS
Small-town lawyer Shep Harrington should have known nothing good could come of a sudden visit from a stranger. When former soap-opera star Sydney Vail lands on his doorstep all keyed up, Shep figures he should help the damsel in distress, going so far as to agree to baby-sit her companion, a very intelligent chimp named Kikora. Problem is, Sydney doesn't return, and soon Shep learns that she stole Kikora from a drug-testing laboratory and is being sought in connection with the murder of the lab's head scientist. With the help of close friends, a very persistent investigative reporter, and one crotchety old attorney, Shep decides to help defend Sydney, all the while becoming enlightened about the plight of laboratory animals. This second installment in Light's Shep Harrington series presents a respectable balance between the mystery and the cause, never turning preachy yet always making clear Light's stance on the issue. Entertaining and enlightening.
Mary Frances Wilkens - Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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